Dramabeans » Joo Ji-hoon

Joo Ji-hoon makes his comeback in sageuk film

javabeans — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:35:39 +0000

Joo Ji-hoon‘s first project out of army duty was supposed to be the musical Dr. Zhivago, but he backed out due to health reasons. (Rehearsal strained his vocal cords; he was replaced by Jo Seung-woo.) After a bit of rest, he’s announced that he’s on a sageuk film instead, called I Am the King.

(Seriously, movie-title-deciders? We have Lee Byung-heon’s I Am the Joseon King, Ha Ji-won’s The King, and now this?)

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Joo Ji-hoon signs with Keyeast

girlfriday — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:56:12 +0000

He’s not due out of the army until November of this year, but it looks like Joo Ji-hoon (Goong, Antique Bakery) is already preparing for his comeback. Army duty can do a lot to wash a slate clean; it’s the Korean equivalent of earning your stripes as a man, and when your public image is tainted, it does the double duty of serving as penance for crimes committed.

Joo has signed with Keyeast, Bae Yong-joon‘s management company, joining the likes of Kim Hyun-joong, Lee Na-young, Choi Kang-hee, and Lee Jia, just to name a few. I know it’s a management company’s job, and Bae Yong-joon is as much a brand name as it is a person, but I have this strange image in my mind of Bae Yong-joon collecting stars like little playthings. Perhaps his role in Dream High is coloring my impression. But if that drama’s confirmed one thing for me, it’s that Bae should stick to being the behind-the-scenes puppetmaster. There is no denying this man’s brilliance in turning stardom into cold hard cash, but his performance leaves a lot to be desired. And I say this having been on the bandwagon in the nineties. It just…ain’t 1998 anymore, is it?

Regardless, it’s all good things for Joo Ji-hoon fans, who can expect a fully-manned comeback, with lots of press and a slew of new projects. Time to start making your wish lists for the drama gods.

Via Seoul NTN

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Stills from Joo Ji-hoon and Lee Jun-ki’s army musical

girlfriday — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:30:08 +0000

Here are some less-photoshopped, more realistic shots of Joo Ji-hoon and Lee Jun-ki in the army musical Life’s Voyage, as well as their thoughts about each other.

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Read the rest of Stills from Joo Ji-hoon and Lee Jun-ki’s army musical (336 words)

Lee Jun-ki and Joo Ji-hoon in army musical

girlfriday — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:47:25 +0000

Lee Jun-ki and Joo Ji-hoon, who entered military service in May and February, respectively, are starring in a musical production as part of the army’s entertainment unit.

The musical, entitled Life’s Voyage, honors the 60-year anniversary of the Korean War, and also stars Kim Da-hyun, Yoon Gong-joo, Son Hyun-jung, and Moon Jong-won.

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Read the rest of Lee Jun-ki and Joo Ji-hoon in army musical (165 words)

Joo Ji-hoon begins military service

javabeans — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:58:03 +0000

Joo Ji-hoon headed off to serve his two years of military duty on the afternoon of February 2. He will complete five weeks of basic training before heading into the reserve corps.

Despite the noise about his indictment last summer on charges of drug use, Joo still has ardent fans; his departure was attended by a group of 300, including approximately 100 who flew to Korea from Japan just to show their support.

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Enlistment date set for Joo Ji-hoon

javabeans — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:45:14 +0000

Joo Ji-hoon has received his army enlistment date: February 2, which was announced by his management on the 14th.

The actor had been intending to enlist early at the end of last year following his drug bust and ensuing indictment. Joo has kept a very low profile since the scandal broke and, aside from performing community service that was a part of his court-ordered punishment, he hasn’t been seen at all. He is currently preparing to enter into military service, where he will serve full-time for two years in the reserve forces.

This actually works well for him (considering the circumstances) since he was given a year’s probation with a six-month suspended sentence; since he’ll be in the army during his probationary period, it’s as good as wiping that six-month suspended sentence off his record now. Plus, he had been banned from appearing on television stations KBS and MBC, and with the scandal blackening his reputation, it wasn’t like he would be able to work. Since he was born in 1982, he would have had to enlist by this year anyway. Perhaps by the time he’s out, he’ll have a chance to rehabilitate his image. (Army duty has a way of whitewashing images, I’ve noticed…)

Via DongA

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Joo Ji-hoon closes homepage and fan club

javabeans — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:42:37 +0000

In preparation for his impending army enlistment, actor Joo Ji-hoon has announced that he is shutting down his homepage and refunding members of his official fan club for the remainder of time covered under their club dues.

The Devil and Antique Bakery actor has been living in seclusion at home ever since completing his court-ordered 120 hours of community service in August. This follows the May indictment he faced after being charged for drug use in April. He was given a suspended sentence of six months of jail time pending one year of probation (meaning, if he completes probation successfully, the jail time would be erased). Actress Yoon Seol-hee faced stiffer punishment for smuggling ecstasy and ketamine into the country from Japan, as did model Yeh Hak-young for financing the operations.

According to Joo Ji-hoon’s management, Yeoubeak Entertainment, his homepage will be shut down on December 1. Although he had thought to enlist by the end of the year, he has not yet received his papers so the date isn’t finalized. Apparently there is a waiting list for enlistees, with 1981-ers being processed first as this is their last year to enlist. Joo, born in 1982, technically must enlist by the end of next year, so he may be pushed back and find his enlistment scheduled for January.

Before the scandal broke, Joo was preparing his next acting project, but his future career prospects remain hazy at the moment. Through his homepage, Joo wrote to fans, “With my mistake, I hurt others and left without being able to show a proud and upright image. Rather than showing you my back, I promise that someday I will face you straightforwardly.”

Via My Daily

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Post tags: army duty, bad behavior, Joo Ji-hoon

From community service to army duty for Joo Ji-hoon

javabeans — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:10:01 +0000

Antique Bakery and Devil actor Joo Ji-hoon has completed his 120 hours of court-ordered community service. This is part of the punishment handed down by the judge following his indictment for drug use last month.

Joo began his community service at the beginning of August at a social welfare center in Songpa-gu in Seoul. As with the other employees at the facility, he was there daily from 9 AM to 6 PM, and worked with the disabled and elderly. According to his management on August 20, “He completed his 120 hours of community service as of this morning. For the time being, he plans to remain at home quietly.” Furthermore, the recent rumors that Joo had shorn off all his hair were refuted; it was explained, “He merely cut it short because the weather is hot, but people had interpreted that as more meaningful than it was.”

Regarding his future plans, the management said, “He plans to enlist in military service at the end of this year. He will serve in the first reserve.”

So what does this mean? Joo’s sentence was for 120 hours of community service, 6 months of deferred jail time, and 1 year of probation. According to his sentence, if he is clean for his 1 year, he will not go to jail and that punishment is essentially erased. If he fulfills his army duty, it’s one more step toward rehabilitating his image with the public (and makes his year-long probation rather easy to track).

Via Now News, Newsen

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Joo Ji-hoon receives his sentencing

javabeans — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:18:46 +0000

On the morning of June 23, Joo Ji-hoon appeared in court to receive his sentencing after pleading guilty to drug use of ecstasy and ketamine, and his fans can relax, since he got off pretty lightly.

His punishment is six months of jail with one year of probation (a suspended sentence) and 120 hours of community service, plus a penalty of 360,000 won (which is only approx US $280). That’s lighter than the one year and 440,000 won fine he had sought earlier this month. What this means is, he gets to suspend his six months of hard time while he is on probation for a year; if he remains clean (of any crime, not just drugs), the offense is essentially cleared and he doesn’t have to serve his initial sentence. To clarify: He is NOT going to jail — not yet, and if he’s clean for his probation, not ever.

The decision was explained, “The nature of the crime is by no means light. However, he has reflected deeply on the crime and has not taken any drugs since the time a year and two months ago. Also, many fans from within the country and from overseas have appealed for an appropriate handling of the matter and sent petitions.”

Joo’s lawyer explained, “Of course he must accept the price of his crime, but wrong information kept coming out and exaggerated him as a habitual user, and some of it was unfair.”

As for his partners in crime, actress and trafficker Yoon Seol-hee was given three years in jail, while model and financer Yeh Hak-young and the unidentified Mr./Ms. Jeon were both given two and a half years of jail, but with four years of suspended-sentence probation, plus two years of regular probation and 200 hours of community service.

Via My Daily

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Joo Ji-hoon seeks 1 year in prison

javabeans — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:47:32 +0000

Joo Ji-hoon arrives at court on June 9

Correction: Apologies, I read further to see that the punishment is not final. The prosecutors sought the stated prison terms for the accused, but the official sentencing comes in two weeks.

Joo Ji-hoon appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on June 9 for a hearing after being caught using drugs (ecstasy and ketamine), where he sought a 1-year prison term and a penalty of 440,000 won.

On this day, Joo Ji-hoon, actress Yoon Seol-hee, and model Yeh Hak-young all admitted to their wrongdoing, and Joo said, “I am deeply regretful of my mistake.” In his final statements, he added, “As one person acting in one moment, I could not restrain my curiosity and ended up hurting many people. I have vowed not to do anything like this again.”

His lawyer added, “Joo Ji-hoon took the drugs while very intoxicated, and did not take any more after the incident last year in April. He had postponed his enlistment date to October 2009, but if he postpones it because of this incident, he will come back a new person after serving his military duty.”

The other celebrities caught up in the scandal sought harsher punishments for trafficking and selling the drugs on multiple occasions: 7 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 13.2 million won for Yoon Seol-hee, the trafficker in the scandal, and 5 years and a 2.26 million won penalty for Yeh Hak-young. They will all receive announcement of their verdict and sentencing at a public hearing on June 23.

(I know a year in prison sounds pretty harsh for a celebrity drug scandal… but I actually think Joo Ji-hoon could face much, much worse. A year is enough time for him to drop out of the public eye, after which he can serve out his military duty, and return with a rehabilitated image in three years. Given that he has to do the army duty regardless, it’s as good a time as any to drop out of the spotlight and let people forget about him for a while.)

Via Break News

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